The European Parliament : The citizen's voice in the EU : a short guide to the European Parliament

The European Union (EU) is a unique economic and political partnership comprised of 28 European Member States. It was created after the Second World War to foster economic cooperation: the idea being that countries that trade with one another become economically interdependent and thus more likely to avoid conflict. The EU is based on the rule of law: everything that it does is founded on treaties, agreed by all Member States. Some of the main achievements of the EU are illustrated in the infographic. The EU remains focused on keeping its institutions transparent and democratic. The European Parliament is a unique multinational parliamentary assembly elected directly by the citizens. The 751 members of the European Parliament represent over 500 million citizens from 28 Member States. European citizens can take part in the political process in a number of ways. For instance, they can vote in elections, contact their member of the European Parliament (MEP), petition the European Parliament or launch a citizen’s initiative requesting the European Commission to prepare a legislative proposal